The Little Tunafish
by Hweianime
Summary: There are two worlds. The world under the waves and the world above. Tsuna longed to see that other world. And when he saw a man falling down into his world, he saw his chance. And he took it. But after looking at these strange colorful (not to mention loud and violent) group of seven the brunette wondered if he made the right choice. All27, R27, mermaid!Tsuna
1. Chapter 1

**Hey hey~~ ok so this will be my second KHR fanfic (yay) **

**I hope you all enjoy this as much as Ten Flames though I feel the intro chapter is a bit meh**

**I'm a little unsure on how I did characterization wise with everyone so I hope you guys will review and give ya opinions~~**

**Also did you know that the color red is very very rare in marine life? So many fish and stuff are unable to identify the color and will tend to ignore it! **

**Hmmm ok pushing my bio nerdiness aside... **

**There is a poem in there that is slightly altered for the story but its called the Silent Sea by Debi Fields**

**It's funny because I seriously planned a different ending to this chapter but somehow the words just wrote itself (sighs) so now my whole storyline needs to be replanned lol **

**but either way~**

**I do hope you all enjoy! XD**

* * *

The ocean. Full of mysteries, secrets and beings that have been only heard of through myths and rumors. It was a time of adventure and action, a male's romance they say. A time of exploration and treasure-hunting in the human world as many chose to travel rather than stay cooped up on some farm in the country. It is during this time, in this strange unexplored world overrun by even stranger beings known as humans a story unfolds.  
And the now the story will start. In the depths of the deep blue sea...

* * *

"Haha Dame-Tsuna is such a failure!"  
"I heard he got the lowest IQ in the entire sea!"  
"Really he's a disappointment to merfolk everywhere."  
Tears weld up inside the brunette, only to be washed away by the surrounding salt water surrounding him as said brunette nursed his bruises whilst listening, to the verbal abuse of his fellow classmates. It wasn't fair! He wasn't a failure, in fact he did pretty decent in everything except math- that was a lost cause in itself but still! Maybe it was because his big brother Giotto was practically considered an idol in the community and he had to live under such a large shadow-it didn't help that he looked so damn weak and feminine, not to mention his quiet, shy personality and strange 'hobbies' plus despite being quite graceful he on occasion found himself bumping into corals or tripping over nothing but water due to his godforsaken clumsiness. It did not take long for him to be immediately been pegged with the insulting nickname 'Dame-Tsuna'.

When his intuition told him it was safe to come out of hiding the teen uncurled himself from his ball and warily left the mass of coral he'd been hiding under. Sniffling quietly he drifted to one of the few places he'd take refuge and comfort in, feeling completely safe from everything. It took a while to get there much to Tsuna's pleasure as it gave him time to clear his head and to push away the dark, violent thoughts that time and time again try to invade his mind, to overtake and consume him. The sanctuary the brunette was heading to had long been forgotten by the others or purposely avoided due to unsavory rumors. Either way it was a perfect place to be alone with no fear of any outsider walking in and it also helped the location was far not to mention hard to locate, requiring a good sense and maneuverability underwater. To get to the place one had to first go through a serious of obstacles: dodging between sharp branches of coral, swimming through the coiling seaweed that always held the possibility of tangling up one's fins and tail, finding one's way through a maze of underground caves until finally reaching the destination.

Of course while Tsuna was fairly confident in his ability to get there relatively unscathed he still found himself wincing at the scratches gained on the journey adding to the numbing pain of his bruises. The brunette however ignored the stinging pain in favor of re-admiring the beautiful interior of his sanctuary.  
How a library had survived, dry and untainted by the outside world over a couple of thousand meters under the sea still baffled the brunette. But here it was, intricate designs and ancient beauty could be seen once the teen resurfaced from the waters. By some strange chance or freak event the place that had once provided knowledge to humans had managed to find itself in one of the many underground caves, Tsuna guessed that the caves themselves used to be a lost civilization that had sunk into the unforgiving embrace of the sea where it was consumed by the marine life to the point there was almost no trace of its glorious past. Of course it could just be his imagination acting up again.

As he pushed himself out of the water, reveling in the strange feeling of air on his skin and scales, the brunette quickly dragged his body onto the land to grab an orange book he had his eye on for a while, only to take it and swiftly return to familiar water. It was one of Tsuna's favorite pastimes to lean on the cave ground, tail still swishing in the water, reading the wonderful tales the books could offer. To him it was a form of escape, an escape from the unfair treatment and bullying, an escape from his lack of family as his dear beloved mother died a few years back from grief and illness as his so-called father who kept leaving, finally left for good all those years ago taking his big brother along with him. The bastard didn't even know she died, hell, he probably didn't even know she was sick. However his sanctuary was frowned upon, it made him even more of an outsider in the community.

Mermaids were a rare endangered species no thanks to humans who long ago hunted and killed them for no reason other than for sport and other selfish desires. So it isn't much of a surprise that no-mer-body wanted anything to do with such impure creatures. Tsuna however thought they were fascinating. And a bit scary. Ok a lot scary. But somehow it added to this strange curiosity of the two legged species. How could they be so brutal and barbaric like he had learnt in school yet write such complex beautiful stories and come up with such intellectual, creative theories? These strange humans were so enthrallingly captivating in their complexities and their hypocrisies.

Looking at the new treasure in his hands the teen greedily read the title with his large honey brown eyes, tracing the golden printing as he did so.

The Arcobaleno's Curse, The Seven Colored Ceremony and it's History

Already large eyes widened further and glittered in curious excitement. Hopefully it's content will be just as intriguing as the cover. With that thought in mind he began reading, devouring the words and leaving reality for a brief moment in time.  
The book wasn't just as interesting as the brunette expected, no- it had far surpassed his expectations. Honestly Tsuna couldn't tell if this was fiction or not and he didn't really care either. Seven Strongest people in their respective fields are chosen to be the Cursed Arcobaleno, they each are entrusted a specific treasure that holds a certain attribute fitting the individual. This so-called treasure is apparently a very special artifact which requires a large amount energy in the form of a flame. All tied by this cruel string of fate, cursed to never age nor grow as they spend the rest of their lives trying to meet the conditions to breaking their accursed burden, conditions so impossible that after generations upon generations none could complete. When they inevitably fail and perish either from accident or from simply meeting their expiration dates, the cursed artifacts will move on to the next seven people. And the cycle once again turns the hands of fate.  
Tsuna was enthralled at the story, the idea was so interesting and intriguing. These mysterious artifacts, the arcobaleno, the search for the impossible somehow it all seemed to resonate deeply within him.

Before the teen could even grasp the strange tingling feeling at the back of his mind his tail twitched as it felt the changing of currents. A storm would be coming and the current would be strong. Nothing that the merman couldn't handle but it would be much safer if he left quickly nonetheless. Pushing himself back up onto the dry stone floor with a grunt the brunette dragged himself back to gently return the orange book back in its place. A part of him slightly reveling in the strange feeling of being completely out of water. However as he began to dry out Tsuna could feel the familiar stinging pain on his skin and almost a ripping sensation in his tail. He persevered for a few more seconds till the pain became almost unbearable and the brunette was forced to dive into the salty water, sighing as his body was soothed from such mind-numbing yet self-inflicted torture. Ever the curious one he'd always question what happens to merfolk when dry, it was an official rule to not go up to the surface and an unspoken law to never allow oneself to be dried out. Nobody questioned why, nobody knew what happens, they just accepted it and continued on their hidden sheltered lives. From the constant attempts of trying to 'dry out' Tsuna finally gathered that the reason for the rule was probably because the pain of drying out would probably kill someone. Actually he guessed that from the first time he was drying out when he almost got stuck on the cave surface, he couldn't really explain why he kept pushing himself to the limits by repeat the tortuous process. Maybe he wanted a deeper connection to the humans he loved so much that he had subconsciously craved to be one, maybe he was genuinely curious to see if something would change in him as he noticed he was able to stand the pain for longer and longer, maybe a part of him wished to die and finally leave his isolated, hated dame-life or maybe he was simply going insane. Maybe it was a bit of all of it.

* * *

As he lazily swam in the water, guided by his strong intuition and the currents of the sea the brunette flipped himself over so he could face where the sky was while he kicked his tail propelling him to wherever the oceans take him. The merteen loved looking at where the sky should be, he would imagine away the ripples of the water and think what the sky would really look like. When the currents were low and waves were calm sometimes Tsuna could see things in the sky, the white patches in the blue that sometimes turned grey when it pours water down, mysterious beings that seemed to swim in the sky and the bright blinding orb known as the sun. Oh how he wished to feel that sun.

Right now the surface was in chaos, the sky was dark and brooding, the white fluffy things no longer so white- more like black and menacing, the tears of the sky pelted hard and fast making it even harder to see the surface among the thrashing waves that reflected its darkening counterpart. So different from the calm water surrounding him. So much more alive.

Admiring the beautiful chaos above big caramel brown eyes seemed to be drawned to something slowly falling from the surface. A figure. A human. And from the way it was struggling it was alive too. Well that's new.  
Not really thinking and just letting his curiosity overtake him, he swam swiftly to the sinking human who had now stopped struggling, possibly unconscious and not dead yet. As the boy got closer he noticed the older male seemed very different compared to the usual ragged clothing he'd seen on many a shipwrecked sailor, clothes less worn, seem to exude a sense of power and dignity despite his unconscious form. It meant this individual was different. Maybe even one of those high class nobles he'd read about, those usually were a rare sight to see in the middle of the ocean. However what really captured his attention was a faint yellow glowing orb that floated off from the human's neck. It really was breath-takingly ethereal in beauty.

Absentmindedly Tsuna wondered what both human and orb would taste like. However his primal instincts were pushed away as the strange man before him began spasming and his intuition was insisting to save the other, it certainly wasn't because a sense of sympathy welled up in him. Really it wasn't. Damn his weak heart. The human was lucky he wasn't hungry or he would have met a cruel fate, intuition and kindness be damned.  
With an exasperated sigh that hid the rising excitement filling him up, the smaller male grabbed the surprisingly warm to touch orb and the other's strange yet in a way fitting black clothing and began pulling the older looking human to the rippling surface. As they got closer, Tsuna's heart beat faster in a mix of anticipation and fear. He would see the sky, he would feel real wind and take a breath of fresh air. He will go against generations of laws and rules but what did those generations do for him anyway?

Ten meters, eight meters, five meters, one meter. The brunette's heart was pumping so much a little part of him thought he'll have an attack, he was so close he could smell the salt filled air.  
So damn close. He was in arms reach of what he had dreamed of, read about and hoped for.

So why was he hesitating?

The doubts that were waiting patiently in the shadows of his mind had chosen now of all times to make themselves known. Suddenly the water felt so much thicker, clinging possessively onto the the lithe figure, refusing to let one of the ocean's rare gems go. He felt himself unwillingly sinking back into the endless blue depths, into it's coaxing safety.  
Suddenly Tsuna felt an iron hold grip clutching his arm, the pain of the nails digging into his flesh awakening him from his hesitant stupor. Looking down at the other being who had been flitting from conscious and unconsciousness the underwater creature couldn't help but suck in a sharp intake of water as he saw a glimpse behind the humans flickering eyelids.

* * *

Darkness, the other beings eyes held a beautiful darkness that not even the inky depths of the ocean could hold. Tsuna could feel in that one split second a power in this man's eyes. A strength, a will, a resolve to live.  
The feeling overtaken him was sudden and almost painful, like getting shot by a bullet. Then he felt heat well inside him and a calmness settle over his once turbulent mind. Surged with an inner will power the merteen didn't even know he had Tsuna kicked up his fins and swam toward the surface at what a human would have considered breakneck speed.

The younger male's head broke through the surface of the choppy waters and his upper half of his body soon followed after, making sure the strange dark eyed stranger was also out of water. Not even wasting a second on admiring the moment Tsuna swam ferociously against the waves, noting absentmindedly how much harder it was to swim against waves rather than underwater currents whilst he headed to the nearest sign of what he assumed was 'land'.

Finally he felt his tail brushing the sand indicating he was getting closer and closer. Adrenalin and excitement pumped through his veins and roared through his ears. Despite his burst of energy Tsuna made sure the man he held was gently placed onto the 'land'. Then the mermaid dragged his whole body out of the water, careful to be close enough to the waves for the occasional splash to hydrate his body.

* * *

Now before he could enjoy his first taste of rebellious freedom Tsuna had to figure out what to do with the human. Looking closer at the figure he noted the other's appearance. The human was tall and despite the long blackness that covered his body the teen could see the other held a muscular yet lean, toned figure, he wondered why this man hides his body under this silky texture- maybe such features are considered shameful or unaesthetically pleasing in the surface world? His (is gender the same up there?) hair is also very strange. Curiously slender fingers traced over the spiral shaped hair that seemed to adorn the older looking human. As if in response the human seemed to frown and twitch, leading to hacking convulsions. Startled the merteen withdrew his hands from the other's face yet the coughing fit did not stop. Tsuna could sense water in the lungs and something inside him told him that for a surface dweller that was probably a very bad thing.  
Using instinct and intuition along the brunette began... Punching the human. The brunette doubted this was working but he had learnt over the years to trust his intuition and it hadn't wronged him yet. However when he heard a slight ominous crack Tsuna felt either he was doing something very, very wrong or humans make cracking noises as a sign of recovery. The smaller male decided that the latter idea was stupid and tried to use less strength as he punched the chest area. After what seemed like hours for the rather impatient merteen who wished to explore rather than play punch the human (though he had to admit it did felt... interesting) Tsuna almost felt like giving up. However he couldn't just leave the black cladded male to just die, he owed him that much at least. Caramel eyes burned a vibrant orange matching the sky at this moment, where the sun was making its descent into the crashing waves. He continued his actions making sure to prop the taller male up to provide the best possible position for letting fresh air through the airways. Finally the man began spitting up water.

'A good sign. Probably.'

Tsuna nodded to himself satisfied. It was nice doing a good deed for some stranger. It was nicer that during the whole ordeal no one had come upon the two, the brunette was not stupid enough to think that he would come out of such a situation safe and happy however looking clearly at his surroundings while unconsciously pulling the larger body closer so the other was resting on his own slim figure, the brunette noticed very little sense of life where he stood. Feeling a little more confident the teen began to hum a soft tune whilst stroking shadow-dark spikey hair much like his mother used to do when young. It felt so soothing doing this as he watched the sky, admiring the beautiful mix of vibrant warm shades and colours filling the once large expanse of blue. Absentmindedly noting how similar his own tail seem to reflect such pretty hues. The humming died down and in its place a song took its shape, a song passed down from generation to generation, a song as old as the existence of mermaids. So into the song the mythical creature didn't even notice eyes darker than the blackest depths of the sea staring upward at him.

_Shades of green and aqua blue_

_The sea painted with a thousand hues_

_Beneath the thundering ocean waves_

_Out of the reach of mariners graves_

_A living testimony swims in majesty_, _once the rulers of the sea_

_Once the rulers of the sea_

_..._

_There lies the hidden gems from beneath the ocean_

_With songs of praise and true devotion_

_To the God of creation and of the sea_

_To the God of creation and of the sea_

_..._

_A sea being robbed by cruel thieves_

_The song of the jewels drifts silently away_

_The hands of man have silenced their praise_

_As God looks down in his majesty_

_As tears trickle down on the silent sea..._

_As tears trickle down on the silent sea..._

* * *

"KORA! I'm pretty sure Reborn isn't here, this whole island is deserted."

"Shut up damn student! The fact the island is deserted doesn't change the fact Reborn could have drifted off here. Don't you learn anything?!"

"I honestly can't believe that smug bastard actually fell overboard though kora."

"T-to be fair it had been a while since we traveled by sea."

"Skull no matter how much you defend him Reborn's still going to rip you a new one for tripping and pushing the man off the ship kora."

"If we look at the math Reborn should be around 7800-8000 miles under the sea by now. Searching here would be fruitless."

"This is a waste of time and resources. Which means money. And I don't waste money."

Fon sighed. "Guys Reborn is our comrade. Why don't we just stop fighting like children and take a look around this place quickly. That way we won't waste as much time."

In the end they reached a compromise in which everyone bickered whilst searching the island. Fon sighed again. He had been doing that a lot lately since everyone grouped together a few months back.

A beautifully pure voice rang out into the air as if from the ocean itself silencing the loud individuals, the sound of waves crashing did nothing to diminish the ethereally intoxicating sound, only adding to it's magnetic lull. As if hypnotized all silently followed the voice like a lifeline wondering who was the beholder of such expressive, harmoniously pure vocals. As they rounded past various shrubbery and vegetation they finally found themselves hidden from view behind a rock as all strained themselves to capture a glimpse (though a few were much more obvious in their attempts voyeurism) of the one who managed to capture their hearts through such enchanting to the point of hauntingly beautiful melody. The group noticed immediately two figures in which one they quickly identified as Reborn. However it was the other that had their attention.

There sitting by the unconscious hitman was a beautiful young boy, milky white skin, gravity defying chestnut hair, large caramel brown eyes and angelic soft features rarely found in this hardened cut-throat world. But what really drew their attention (though the teen's face did enrapture them just as much) was the lower half of this young male's body. Instead of legs their was a long glistening fish tail. A beautiful orange that reminded one of a dazzling sunset, the scales seemed to glimmer against the light like as if a flame was trapped in each scale. The fins adorning the sides of the tail, his arms as well as the end of his tail itself was almost transparent yet still had faint orange-pink shade. The only thing the ethereal individual wore was a delicate, shimmering see-through gossamer fabric wrapped around his hips where skin met with scales. The clothe was adorned with various strings of pearls ranging from colors of pure white to creamy orange giving an even more 'heavenly' appearance to the lithe, slim figure.

"Beautiful." Someone breathed unconsciously as every other person nodded in agreement.

_"As tears trickle down on the silent sea..._

_As tears trickle down on the silent sea..."_

The song soon ended like sea foam dissolving back where it came from and a comfortable quiet filled the air with only the sounds of the sea as company. However as all silences were met with an eventual end, this particular one ended rather abruptly when a certain purple clad individual accidentally pushed a little too hard in order to gain a better view and a few shoves later resulted in the male stumbling out of hiding and right in obvious view of the object of their voyeurism.

* * *

Tsuna continued stroking the human's hair as he looked at the horizon reveling in this feeling of peace and ignoring the niggling sensation at the back of his mind. However he quickly regretted the action as ears picked up the sound of quite loud, erratic thumpings on the sand. Turning quickly to the source the merteen's entire body stiffened and large caramel eyes widened producing a deer in the headlights expression as he caught sight of another human.

This one unlike the human the brunette was currently cradling in his arms who was dressed in black and a little yellow, was made up of violets, blacks and silver which like the other human covered almost completely his body. The part of Tsuna that wasn't screaming warning bells thought the other looked kinda pretty with flashes of silver and the interesting texture of the black and purple unlike anything he'd ever seen. The others hair was also violet but a little darker than the clothes, what intrigued the curious merman even more was the equally dark violet markings on the edge of his eyes and on his lips not to mention a sparkly silver chain connected to his lips and to his ears as well as other matching metal bulbs. Apparently humans were much more diverse than he first thought.

A rather exasperated sigh that didn't come from either humans broke Tsuna from his thoughts. Suddenly the boy felt very, very aware of his vulnerability however his intuition didn't seem to foretell any real danger before and so it was rather easy to had brush off the uneasy feeling but now... Warily he took his gaze away from the purple clad man to search for the other humans hidden. A flare of intuition and honeyed eyes rested on a particularly large rock in dense shrubbery. Unconsciously he half hugged the warm being on his tail for comfort and reassurance.

The individuals that were once hidden in the vegetation moved (swam?) out of hiding once Tsuna's gaze turned toward them. It relaxed the merteen a bit as he noted them looking almost sheepish in expression and not at all showing any signs of aggression like the half human expected from the scary stories he had heard so often from the elders. However only a little. The group were filled with various coloured humans; one had spikey green hair and a strange metal, glass decoration on his nose, one had dark blue hair and a strange red marking on her face that Tsuna couldn't identify, one with blonde hair and a funny dark green pattern on his hair which reminded the teen a little of a mix of different algae and seaweed, one completely covered in dark indigo (humans were so strange) and lastly one with long hair in a tail covered in the strangest color he'd ever seen. It was a while of Tsuna staring at the humans to the point some (Violet, Blue hair, Seaweed pattern and Tails the brunette mentally named) were visibly uncomfortable. It was Seaweed pattern that stepped up, coughed (in which Tsuna immediately tensed at the action) and spoke up.

"Uh. Kora. We were kinda looking for... That there. So would you mind passing him to us?" All the blonde got was big brown eyes blinking owlishly, slowly trying to comprehend the content. Tsuna may have read countless books and learnt many languages through the experience but never once had he heard not spoken the words in the book. It took a little while to decipher the human's words and a little longer to understand. Finally it dawned on him. The brunette looked down to the unconscious figure, to the blonde, back and forth till finally back to the blonde. "Th-ees eez youws?" The teen managed to produce from his pink lips. He worried that his terrible pronunciation would hinder communications however he had little to worry as the human's facial features crinkled into a smile as he nodded his head rather vigorously. "Yeah kora! That's ours!"

Seaweed pattern took a step forward and Tsuna couldn't help but flinch warily. Though they showed no signs of any deceit it still wasn't wise to be so trusting towards them. Centuries of stories on the hunts for mermaids as well as the cruel brutality of it were alone enough reason to maintain a safe distance. The brunette wondered how fast it would take for him to throw the black clad human at the blonde and drag himself back into the deeper parts of the sea before they attempt to capture him. 'Too slow. They could catch me before I'm even half submerged.' He thought darkly 'My best bet is to hope these humans are kind enough to leave me be.' Apparently the action was noticed by the colorful group if the calculating expressions were to go by. Whilst the merteen was deep in his thoughts they all looked at each other in silent communication before subtly nodding as one, careful not to alert the beautiful creature. It was something they always did. Before they stole something. It wasn't surprising after all, they were all pirates. What was surprising was that everyone - from the peace loving Chinese to the scientific, apathetic German - seemed to be willing to cooperate. They were all curious, they all wanted to know more, they were all unaware that they were completely enchanted by a siren's song.

A sharp burning flare of intuition pushed all and any previous thoughts aside in warning the brunette of an impending danger however Tsuna was too slow to react. Colonello still held a friendly smile on his face but the group behind him had suddenly circled around him, blocking any chance of escape. An icy chill dropped down his spine into his stomach as the half human realised how much trouble he truly was in. "Sorry 'bout this kora but why dontcha just come to us an-" the soft deceptively soothing tone stopped abruptly as all jumped to pounce forward. Not wasting a second Tsuna pushed the human off him as he thrashed around in attempt to evade and escape. Chaotic emotions spurred the need for survival on and Tsuna began thrashing and snarling around at full force again much to the humans' surprise.

"We _*grunt*_ just- ow!- want to talk dammit!" The blue haired female grunted out. Unexpectedly the delicate, frail looks were very deceiving.

"Lies! All _liessss!_" The brunette hissed as he pushed away the indigo cloaked one who practically flew in the air from the sheer force. Suddenly he was stopped in his frenzy as to the teen's dismay and surprise a large hand shot up and grabbed his own thin arm. Looking down scared, confused, caramel brown eyes locked onto eyes the color of the darkest depths that held a gleam that reminded the brunette of a predator. A cold, calculating beast which both scared and pulled him closer. Feelings of anger and betrayal hit him as it dawned that this human who he saved was also trying to capture him.

And suddenly the world went black.

* * *

"What the hell did you do?!"

"KORA! You were just as guilty as the rest of us Lal!"

"It seemed after hearing the song we became more impulsive and less reasonable and logical for a temporary period of time. Fascinating."

"Who cares about that!? My question is what to do now?!"

"We should apologize to mermaid-kun once he wakes I think."

"And what?! I'm sooo sorry we all tackled you, knocked you out and possibly scarred you for life? But it was because we really liked your singing which holds magical mind washing properties? Yeah I'm sure that would go swimmingly."

"I better be getting paid medical compensation from the damage inflicted."

_*BANG*_

The sound of a gunshot silenced everyone who all turned to the damp raven-haired male. **"Shut. Up." **

They didn't even question where the man got a gun.

Reborn was already in a foul mood. Almost drowning does that to you. And the useless fighting wasn't helping either. He didn't like how he somehow became enraptured by the melody, became enraptured by the creature itself and most of all he hated the flash of hurt, betrayal and pain in those large expressive eyes when he knocked the other out. But he was the world's greatest hitman. He could get past it. "Now. I think calming the kid after he wakes would be the best route to take. Speaking of which..." Without hesitation nor warning the hitman raised his right arm and shot another bullet. "HIIIIIEEEEEE!"

All eyes turned toward the source of the not at all manly screech in which they saw a certain previously unconscious brunette dragging his tied up body to the ocean. The bullet had barely missed the figure but made a definite mark in it's point. Tsuna wanted to cry when he awoke to the sound of loud shouting, the realization that his arms were tightly bound and he was barely in the water. He wished he'd never left the safe embrace of the ocean, he wished he'd just left the horrible human though deep down he also knew that he probably wasn't regretting the whole experience either. He had achieved one of his dreams with courage he never knew he possessed and watched the sky without the ripples of water to hinder his view. Now if he could only get out of this terrifying situation than the day would be perfect.

"...Where do you think you're going?" The voice was cold yet hot, dangerous yet coaxingly seductive, fear-inducing yet calming. In short it was what Tsuna loved in humans; a beautiful blend of complexity and hypocrisy and though he knew he should be terrified out of his mind with his intuition practically screaming death threats if he didn't run now but for a few seconds he felt almost spellbound by the human's captivatingly_ human_ voice. Though the second shot really woke him from his daze. Fear and nausea once again welled up inside him. Looking at the group of humans who in turn were staring back at him Tsuna gave his most pleading look. Large brown eyes watered, threatening to spill with tears. Full soft lips trembled in an adorable pout. A light pink blush dusted cherubic features. "Please." The voice came out wavering, full of emotion, of confusion, of fear. "Pleaze let me go."

It was such a heart-wrenching sight to see such a majestically ethereal creature scared to the point of tears. Colonello, Skull and Lal shifted uncomfortably, they were not as deeply connected to the darker underworld as the others and so they were unable to stop the looming feeling of guilt eating away at their bodies. Fon, Verde and even Mammon weren't able to keep their gaze steady for long and soon had to avert their gazes from the trembling delicate figure and though it was only for a few seconds it was a clear admission of a guilty conscious. Reborn however seemed to show no sign of wavering resolve nor remorse. It seemed that way to everyone. Everyone except Tsuna. Tsuna could see in the human's eyes different shades of black; the faint differences of charcoal, ebony, midnight and over a hundred different others. And from those shades Tsuna could see hesitation. It was only a slight waver. A tremor. A crack. Perfect.

Tsuna wasn't completely dame. Yes the brunette was clumsy, naive and maybe a little to kind for his own good but he was also something else. A predator. A hunter. And a killer. Mermaids were the top of the underwater food chain after all and when a hunter senses a weakness even in the strongest prey. They take it.

Using the reserves of what one could only call inhuman strength the brunette broke his bindings as he flipped himself onto his stomach as he hastily dragged himself past shocked uncomprehending eyes and toward the wide expanse of dark blue glittering warmly with the reflection of the pretty white sparkles in the equally dark sky. Of course he did this not before giving a good back tail kick to the offending human he had saved before. Finally Tsuna felt his whole body heave a grateful sigh at the familiar sensation of cold water hitting skin and scales and fins. Once in the water the merman felt invincible against these two tailed creatures. Cheekily the brunette couldn't help coming back out of water to wave at the still staring humans before again going back underwater. As he swam deeper the teen couldn't help but let out a small childish giggle it felt exhilarating as adrenaline still pumped into his blood, his pulse racing a mile a minute. It had been scary, no it had been absolutely terrifying and confusing but. But it was the most alive he had ever felt.

The giggle soon escalated into full blown laughter as he swam circles and did backflips, whooping with joy. He knew that he couldn't go back to his life before. The life of Dame-Tsuna who had none to love or be loved by. He would miss the library but he could always visit. But now... -Tsuna caught sight of a large sea vessel anchored to the island and didn't even bother to suppress a grin- Now he wanted more.

* * *

"Wow. Mermaid's got some moves kora." Colonello couldn't help but nod appreciatively before he received a rather heavy blow on the head. "Stupid student! Don't go complimenting the enemy!"

"Technically he wasn't our enemy if we think about it we were the ones who provoked him." The woman opened her mouth to protest at the words of the scientist but couldn't find a way to refute the sheer logic.

"Tch. Let's go back to the boat I'm freezing." Stoically the curly side burned male cocked his gun back into his holster as he walked away with a dark aura of elegance and intimidation. Though a few noticed (with great amusement) the hitman rubbing unconsciously his right thigh, the place where the creature kicked him as well as some reason his ribs.

They all walked to their ship in silence. Only the waves and their thoughts to entertain them. Finally as they raised anchor and prepared to set sail did someone break the silence.

"I guess we'll never see him again huh kora?"

Reborn only looked at the dark waves. The ocean that held so many things, so many secrets. Suddenly his ears picked up a splash that broke the constant steady rhythm of the waves. His eyes picked up a flash of sunset orange in the everlasting darkness. And there he was. Eyes caramel with a faint glow of vibrant orange. Soft features molded in a charming smile. Before he could even blink to check if what before him was really real and not some sort of hallucination the creature threw something at him. Being the skilled professional he was the hitman easily caught it. A familiar warm pulse was felt and large hands opened to reveal a glowing yellow pacifier. Looking back into the waves all he could catch was a beautiful shimmering tail that held all the colors and shades of sunsets.

'That sneaky brat... Interesting.'

Turning to his peculiar group, back facing the ocean he combed his fingers through his hair remembering a different set of soft warm hands. "We travel to the East first." He barked. Though met with a few grumbles everyone complied to the orders not wanting nor had the energy to deal with an angry Reborn.

"Oh and Colonello?"

"Yeah kora?"

Gazing into the bottomless sea Reborn gave a small smirk of amusement.

"You're wrong. This is just the beginning."

* * *

It was as subtle as the flicker of a small flame but the young merman and the experienced hitman could sense it when their eyes met.

Things were changing.

The hands of fate were turning once more.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi hi! **

**OMG 100 follows from ONE chapter!? I'm sooo happy! **

**God I really hope this chapter lives up to the expectation… Well I really hope it does cause I sprained my wrist writing this. Yes. You heard right. **

**I honestly don't know why it happened but I swear to god it's true. I'm wearing a special glove and all! **

**haha I practice the art of extreme fanfiction-ing.**

**Where was I? Oh yes.**

** I so hope you enjoy this chapter and please tell me your opinions~~**

* * *

Maybe it was a bad idea to have gone East. Not that Reborn would ever say it out loud. But it _had_ been a pretty rash decision on his part.

It had been around a week and a half since his little _'almost drowning because of a certain stupid purple idiot'_ incident (which he made sure to afterward to punish said purple idiot) and there were no signs of land in sight. Apart from Skull, none of them were used to very long times at sea. Meaning they always made sure to take short journeys on boat, even if meant a longer time to their overall end destination. Everyone was getting irritated, even the ever calm Fon was starting to lose patience. Food was getting low and hunger would not be the best thing for them to face right now.  
"Reborn-sempai are we there ye~~t?" The purple idiot whined annoyingly making the hit man's eyebrow twitch oh so subtly in irritation.

"Shut up lackey." The elder growled which was accompanied by the sounds of gunshots and yelps.

"Oi kora! Your scaring all the fish here- how is my beautiful Lal going to eat tonight if we don't have anything to serv- ow!"

"You stupid student! It will take a hundred years more training for you to even think about trying to protect me!"

"So there _is_ a number kora." The blonde gave a triumphant smirk as the bluenette blushed violently.

"I-idiot! And you haven't even caught a single fish- God you _are_ useless!"

"Will you desist your useless flirting for one second? I am trying calculate our current funds and more importantly my share of the gold."

"I am in agreement with Mammon. This bickering is disrupting my experiments."

Soon the voices all were drowned by each other as they once again descended into a mass of loud shouting and fighting. Fon who was trying to meditate could faintly feel a migraine forming in his head. His attention moved to less headache inducing ideas and turned to watch the blue waves rolling lazily in the water. The martial artist thought back on the memory of a certain brunette mermaid. The Chinese noticed that the other raven-haired male was also afflicted with similar thoughts as he too was looking at the tempestuous sea. In fact ever since that incident everyone of them will time and time again look into the sea and sometimes they swore they saw a glimmer of orange, a splash that didn't belong or a faint tinkling laughter which was from no mere wind.

* * *

Tsuna was having fun watching the humans interact with each other on the strange floating thing known as a 'ship'. Honestly the brunette thought it was a very fancy large piece of driftwood.

He was curious of everything they did- the black scary thing that the human he saved (and so politely backstabbed when the opportunity arose, the teen thought a little bitterly) always seemed to hold and threaten others with. The strange pieces of paper the cloaked human always seem to be... _Counting?_ The way the long haired human wearing the strange colour just sat at random times of the day for_ hours- _like _seriously_ what the hell is with that?! And just anything the green haired male seemed to be fiddling with was amazingly intriguing to watch.

However no matter how interesting or how curious the merteen was, Tsuna was still very wary on actually approaching these people. For good reason though. The brunette didn't understand why they tried to attack him so suddenly and even if he was confident enough to be able to escape a second time- Tsuna felt a little shy in actually meeting these people. It was kind of pathetic really that he still felt rather timid around strangers but he did. However as he watched these colorful two-legged creatures the sunset coloured merteen noted an increase in internal fighting as well as longer intervals of consuming their rather bland looking substance which the male assumed to be their food. They seemed to also consume fish but however were not very good in hunting them with their thin pieces of wood and even thinner rope. It seemed a little like one unfortunate cycle. The humans wouldn't eat, they get hungry, they get irritated, they fight, they get hungrier. Tsuna wondered why they were starving themselves. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to try talking with them again... You know in a few more days. Damn his dame-ness.

* * *

Three weeks. Three freaking weeks at _sea_. Three freaking weeks drifting about in the middle of nowhere with people he rather shoot than spend another second with. If the looks of annoyance and anger on the others faces were any indication then they too seem to share the same murderous thoughts. _'That would be a laugh- the Seven strongest people in the world killed by friendly fire in the middle of the frigging ocean.'_ Reborn thought morbidly. Not to mention they were all _starving_. At the moment everyone was attempting to fish or scavenge the waters for any edible substance as their food source has run dangerously scarce. While the hitman was quite the picky gourmet at this rate he would be satisfied with anything even- and it physically _disgusts_ him to admit it- instant coffee.

Again a glimmer of orange catches his eye and distracting him from his hunger. Recently he had found himself unconsciously looking out into the horizon waiting for a glimpse of the beautiful merchild who saved him. As the world's greatest hitman he could sense the creature's presence nearby and as each day passes the brunette seemed to be a little closer than before. He didn't know why he found himself relieved the mermaid hadn't left, even when the other held every right too but he did. Maybe it was curiousity or quite possibly a lingering guilt or even a little sadistic desire to tease the teen (the shocked face the mermaid made when he shot his gun at him was simply delightful). It couldn't be anything else after all and even then the guilt option seemed a little unlikely as well. A slight growl of his stomach woke him from his thoughts as he felt himself holding his stomach as if trying to silence the undignified sounds coming from him. Shit he hated living on a boat.

"Kora. You too huh?" The blonde laughed wearily as he sat down by the edge of the boat next to the already annoyed hitman.

"Shut. up. Colonello."

If the soldier heard him he sure didn't show it. Throwing his head back to look at the sky as he leaned slightly backward the blue eyed male proclaimed to the heavens. "I would sell my soul just to get a piece of fish to eat kora!"

"A-ano, I don't really need your soul but I can get you some fish if you want."

Reborn blinked. Colonello abruptly looked down to the source of the unknown voice dumbly. All the others who were absentmindedly listening suddenly whipped their heads in order to also see the source. Tsuna unused to all the attention shyly sank a little deeper in the blue depths so only his wet brown hair and caramel brown eyes were seen. "W-well if you promise not to hurt me anyway." He gurgled underwater but they all somehow still caught it.

"I will pay you three grand." Mammon piped up breaking the silence. The brunette responded with a cute tilt of the head as his brow wrinkled in confusion.

"Grand? What is this grand you speak of?"

The indigo clad individual couldn't respond. To him money was everything and some more. Someone who didn't understand its value was unthinkable. The only female of the group stepped up for the now rendered speechless male.

"You'll really help with our food problem?" She said with a disbelieving snort and raised eyebrow. "What's in it for you huh brat?"

That the teen understood. Of course they too would be just as suspicious to the other party. Honestly he had no ulterior motive nor a reason to even help, in fact their previous interaction would make anyone assume that the creature was stalking them for revenge. Which he wasn't. Tsuna just didn't want the most interesting thing to come into his life to die. However his intuition seemed to warn him that if he said that the people would definitely not take it as the compliment it was. Really humans were strange. The merteen just shrugged, his tail swishing in the water glistening as lights reflected off the scales. "I guess I'm getting a little hung-er-ee too. So if you all stay put I could hunt a little extra for you."

The group of humans looked at each other in silent conversation. The brunette waited patiently for their decision, subtly trying to read the almost stoic poker faces to gain some sort of insight. Truly these two legged ones were very complex. Finally the one with a tail for hair turned to the half submerged creature with a calm smile. "We would like it very much if you could do that err... Mermaid-kun." Tsuna liked this human's politeness. Though he can't help but remember at the back of his mind how scarily swift the man was and the strength in his grip.

"It's Tsunayoshi." He affirmed mimicking the politeness he had received.

"Then I'm Fon. One of the fastest individuals and highly trained in martial arts." Fon gave a bigger smile as he then gestured to the now surrounding humans.

"This is Mammon, the greatest Illusionist in the world" Still speechless the cloaked figure just nodded toward the creature.

"Skull holds a body that defies human laws in terms of endurance, defense etc. He is one of the best divers in the world."  
At the introduction the leather clad man puffed up arrogantly "They say I'm hated by the Grim Reaper and even Neptune himself!" The merteen swished his tail in wonder at the strange textured coated human in awe. "Wow! Neptune has never _hated_ anyone. You must be amazing!" The brunette complimented honestly. Neptune was powerful and as tempestuous as the sea he rules but it was rare for him to hate anyone. Of course the man traveled more than actually staying in one place so Tsuna wasn't really updated in the guy's hit list.

Skull paled at the compliment. 'Wait. Neptune was_ real_?!'

Fon paled a little as well as the others, it was barely noticeable to all but Tsuna himself however the teen just passed it off as a human thing. "_*cough*_ Well this is Lal Mirch the only female of the group. Former boss of COMSUBIN and one of the strongest soldiers in the world. Colonello over there is also a former member and expert in handling various weaponry." The female snorted rather un-femininely. "That's probably the only thing he was good at." Colonello put his hand to his heart rather dramatically in reply. "Kora! I'm hurt Lal."

"Over there eyeing you up is Verde. He's considered the smartest person to date. Some even call him Da Vinci's reincarnation." The brunette didn't know who this Da Vinci human was but he sounded great. If this human was as a genius as Tails (though he knew the names of them now it was still hard to stop calling them by their nicknames) said he was, Tsuna found himself getting excited at all the answers he could get to his questions. "I am not 'eyeing him up' as you so eloquently put it." Verde grumbled. "It is called observing."

"And this..." The martial artist continued. "Is Reborn. He's-"

"Chaos." Obsidian eyes much like the depths of the ocean immediately pulled in chocolate ones. "Reborn. The greatest hitman in the world." Tsuna couldn't help but shiver slightly as the deep voice seemed to vibrate through him as he could practically hear so many complexities in that one sentence. Pride. Seduction. Arrogance. Curiousity. Suspicion. And a soft edge that subtly seemed to ask for forgiveness.

The underwater dweller smiled at them all, trying to memorize each name to each unique face before wordlessly sinking into the ocean's depths.

Now it was time to eat.

* * *

A few minutes later and forty meters under sea level it occurred to the teen that he didn't know what humans actually ate. _Shit_. And he did such a dramatic exit too.  
Mermaids ate anything. Literally anything and everything. From algae to fish to sharks to shipwrecked sailors to the shipwrecks themselves. And something told him that humans don't exactly share the same diet of see food. As in if you can see it, you eat it.  
As he was in the midst of panicking, caramel brown eyes caught sight of a flash of silver. Turning his eyes lit up at the sight of a school of large silver fish about a meter in length and oblivious as hell. He knew this particular species held no trace of poison, just sharp teeth and an admittedly very fast tail. Of course not as fast as his. A spark of orange and all his scales shimmered like tiny flames itching to burn and attack as he sprang toward the school like the predator he is.

* * *

_*grumble* *growl*_

"Dammit where is that shrimp?! I'm starving!"

"It's only been a few minutes since he left. Expecting Tsunayoshi-kun to have enough food for seven people including himself is a bit much."

"But since the boy isn't technically human do you think he would know what well _we_ can digest?"

A short silence immersed the group. Then-

"Lackey you eat the food first."

"I agree kora."

"BU-" Skull silenced himself as he caught sight of a shadow that was slowly getting bigger. He looked up at Reborn and Colonello who was intimidatingly right in front of him and took a huge step back. Before the hitman could even raise an eyebrow or the Comsubin soldier could open his mouth a rain of long silver fish fell down on them. All there was were stunned silence and the sound of fish flapping desperately around the boat. Then a tinkling laughter penetrated the quiet. There the half fish, half human male was rolling on the deck laughing his scales off.

"Ahaha- I'm _*gasp*_ so sorry- haha- tripped _*wheeze*_ your faces -Hahahahaha- hilarious _*gasp*_"  
Apparently some of the laughter was infectious. Fon covered his mouth with his sleeve. Mammon tugged his hood to hide his amusement, wishing absentmindedly that he had a device to capture the moment. Verde was smirking as he actually began planning such a device so moments like this could be forever engraved and remembered. Lal Mirch was trying really hard not to laugh at her drenched student but couldn't suppress the chuckles escaping her lips. Skull couldn't hold back any of his laughter and did so outright directly in front of his very unamused, fish covered sempais.

"What..." Dark eyes narrowed as long fingers picked up a failing fish from his wet spikey black hair. "Is _this_?"  
Tsuna smiled his most innocent smile that could have put Angels to shame if not for the cheeky glint in his shining wide honey brown eyes.

"Lunch."

* * *

"Kora! This is the best meal I had ever!" Bright blue eyes twinkled like the sea's waves on a hot cloudless day as he turned to the smiling half submerged mermaid. "You are totally forgiven for before." The sudden change from loud and childish to serious with the last statement made Tsuna laugh lightly as his tail splashed in the water in gentle satisfaction. He really did love humans. How different they were since his first meeting a few weeks back. Food somehow provides trust between individuals. What a strange exchange. Maybe that strange saying he had read once was right. 'The fastest way to a man's heart is through the stomach.' Though why anyone would feed a human just to take their heart is beyond him. Personally he preferred the head or a limb. Less chewy.

"Not a bad catch brat." Lal commented gruffly through bites of darkened fish, though the brunette noted the tone to be relatively light indicating a good mood. Tsuna was honestly more interested in the fish rather than the compliment itself. The fish or Barracuda as they called it was no longer silver and well -normal after they brought them in their underground wooden cave they called 'downstairs'. The skin was darker and not as smooth and wet, the flesh no longer pink and bloody. What really stood out was the smell. It was not anything the male had ever experienced, it wasn't 'fishy' though it wasn't a bad thing. Just different. Oh how both his curiosity and instincts were screaming at him to snatch this unknown substance to taste however he had just established a relationship with the humans and wished not to overstep any boundaries he knew nothing about. He wasn't really as starving as he claimed to be before, he was hungry but he was always hungry. The only reason he ate was to stave off starvation- because once at that state hell breaking loose would be an understatement to what would happen. But studying the strange preparation of fish, the aroma somehow made his mouth unconsciously fill with saliva. It was a little unnerving to be honest how this white meat made him react in such a manner.

"Do you want to try some?"

The voice was deep, gravely and filled with an overwhelming curiousity much like his own that the merteen had to turn to the voice. There was the green haired male with the funny decoration on his nose. His name was Verde if he remembered correctly. "Ah- no I'm fine! I wouldn't want to impose..."

Despite his denial his traitorous excuse of a body said otherwise, his tone clearly suggesting a want to taste, his body language showed signs of pouncing the meal in the scientist's hands any second, brown eyes only staring at the said dish while his tail kicked the water impatiently, scales practically shimmering with impatience. While Verde was not the most social of human beings even he could recognize a lie that bad. Raising his eyebrow in amusement he cut a small part of his cooked barracuda and offered the piece on the edge of his fork for the creature.

* * *

If he wasn't there right now he wouldn't have believed mermaids of all things existed. He would have scoffed at the delusional fool who told him such nonsense and send him far away from his old lab in Germany. But he was here now and they do exist so the only logical thing was to observe the other. To research him. Information was the scientists bread and butter. And Tsuna was definitely the highest form of that. Just his presence intrigued and confused him. And the green haired male appreciated how the other seemed to share the same sheer curiosity as he from what he could tell. While he prided himself of being apathetic for the sake of science Verde found himself wanting to become better acquainted to the other, surprisingly not just as a subject but possibly someone in which he could hold a... _Friendly conversation_. Never had he held a feeling like this with anyone, not even his companions who while interesting enough he found uncouth and irritating- especially Reborn- and that feeling of distaste was mutual to say the least. No. The mermaid was quite quiet, he held an almost childishness demeanor yet his wide honeyed brown eyes revealed a glint of maturity and wisdom that came from experience and age. Not to mention the creature held a charisma, a charm that couldn't be put down but swayed even the most stubborn. _'Fascinating.'_

Tsuna looked at the offered meal with excitement and suspicion. However his ever burning curiousity won over and coyly he lifted himself from the edge of the deck to try the meal. At the sound of the water falling of his lithe figure being pulled out of the blue ocean's clutches the chattering and consumption of food stopped as the rest of the group watched the scene play out with a little shock. Verde of all people was doing something nice? _Verde?!_ Did they actually die during the storm and reincarnate in some hell on earth parallel universe!? What was next - Reborn wearing a pink fluffy dress while Mammon willingly gives all his money to charity?!

As Tsuna lifted himself to slide up on the ship next to the scientist eyeing the substance in the other's hands with hungry intrigue. However the merteen was quite confused on how to consume the food in a socially acceptable manner. "What is the social protocol for this situation um- Verde-san?" The green haired male quirked his lips up slightly in bemusement.

"Just consume the food like you normally would Tsunayoshi."

Honestly Verde was expecting the other to take the fork and eat the cooked fish on it like any normal person would. So it was quite the surprise when not only did the younger looking male not do those things but he instead cupped his surprisingly warm hands around his wrist holding the fork (he absentmindedly noted how small and delicate those fingers wrapped around him were) and proceeded to eat both fish and metal utensil. There was a particularly disturbing loud crunch. Followed by more noises that reminded everyone of bones being grinded to a mulch. Very different to the vision of the rather thin dainty figure chewing cutely and happily savouring the taste of the new food in his mouth.

* * *

The silver stick wasn't bad. Crunchy but not gravelly like sand nor crackly like the the reddish rust found on anchors. In fact it was strangely smooth and a little oily on the tongue. The humanised fish was possibly the strangest- though not unwelcome sensation he had ever experienced. It was hot. Not like eating a fish on a particularly sunny day when the water around them was hot but the fish itself was exuding heat which was amazing in itself. It was oily on the tongue and there was surprisingly very little saltiness to what he was used to. A little plain. But it wasn't bad. Tsuna wouldn't mind another bite if offered anyway. Then again he wasn't the most picky.

With an audible swallow he finished the last of his meal. Turning to look up at the scientist the brunette gave a shy smile of appreciation. "T-thanks for the meal."

Verde found his heart suddenly beating at a fervored rate at the sight and his cheeks warm slightly. Somehow he wanted to see more of that enticing smile and that urge could for a second almost consume his current curiosity of the mermaid's dietary intake. He would have to run some experiments on himself to determine the cause of such strange abrupt symptoms.

* * *

Tsuna noticed the other was looking at him strangely, actually as he began to become more aware of his surroundings he realised the rest of the humans had stopped their own activities to watch him. With the amount of stares his way he began to feel a lot more self conscious and vulnerable- especially more so when out of water. He furrowed his brows delicately in confusion at this response. 'Is something wrong? Did I do something wrong?'

The long haired male was the one who answered his unspoken question coughed slightly. "We _*cough*_ didn't expect you to eat the fork."

'Fork? Did he mean the shiny stick? Well that didn't make sense. Verde offered him the food and he took it right?' His brow furrowed deeper, uncomprehending what he did wrong. The human he saved- Reborn seemed to read his mind ('Shit did certain humans have the ability to read minds?!'), picked up his own fork and kneeled in front of the creature. "This." A smirk was found on the hitman's lips and a smug twinkle of amused condescension in those attractive eyes of darkness. It was possibly the first of many times Tsuna felt the urge to punch the smug face in. "Is a fork, it's used to pick food up to eat Dame-Tsuna."

"How did you know I was called that!" The brunette shouted before quickly clasping his mouth with his hands like he could take back the words that had already escaped his mouth. The sadistic smirk only widened in response making the merteen shudder slightly. Then he realised something.

"Wait. You need something to hep you eat? Could you not use your hands?"

The hitman snorted but before he could comment on the brunette's question Fon ever the peacemaker stepped in. "Well Tsunayoshi-kun forks are used so it's more hygienic when we eat."

"Hygenic?"

"So we don't get sick kora!"

"Don't interrupt you loudmouth!"

Once again the group devolved into noise and fighting. Colonello teasing the angry blushing Lal Mirch. Skull piping up and earning himself a few punches and insults from the soldiers. Somehow the indigo coloured human stumbled and tripped over the pile of paper the cloaked one had been counting rather obsessively before hand. Mammon screeched something in another language- Italian?- and Verde quickly rushed over to save his containers filled with funny bubbling liquids and strange contractions from a future in the scrap pile. Fon was just there in the middle of it all trying to soothe the fighting duo. Tsuna and Reborn just watched by the sidelines, one smirking in amusement and the other giggling at the scene, happy the humans were once again so energetic and lively. The duo found themselves just enjoying each others company and presence as they watched the chaos unfold.

It was so nice. The feeling of the salty wind and big expanse of blue sky caressing his whole body. Basking in the direct warmth of the sun as shadows of the white masses in the sky moved slowly. The noises of humans on the deck, fighting, laughing (mainly on the blonde's end) and more lively bickering. Then a calming presence of the human dressed almost in black he saved balancing out the various colours of his companions. While he felt a little more uncomfortable with the other Tsuna found himself thinking of those eyes, the voice. Reborn was like a riptide, drawing him in whether he liked it or not. He didn't understand the feeling but right now he was satisfied with now. He would have given anything at the moment to keep everything the same, to pause time and the inevitable.

However time didn't stand still for no one and he knew that better than most as his tail began to ache as he began drying out. Apparently on the surface he dries out much quicker than in the underwater library. Made sense of course since the library was cool whilst here was hot. With a sigh he began edging toward the edge of the boat. The shifting of his lithe body and his scales sparkling like dancing flames as he moved under the light caught a certain yellow pacifier holding hitman's obsidian eyes.

* * *

"What are you doing Dame-Tsuna?" The insulting nickname rolled off his tongue like honey. Yes it definitely felt right to the hitman when he saw the subtle irritated twitch of the other. Tsuna was interesting, amusing, entertaining. And there was nothing that Reborn appreciated more than entertainment that didn't piss him off. It was right up there with high quality espresso and beautiful women. 'Speaking of beautiful…' Reborn's eyes couldn't help but let his gaze run down that thin rather attractive body of the merteen. The smaller male had almost creamy white rather soft-looking skin which was strange considering him living his life in the water. However it only added to his ethereally angelic features. Soft fluffy gravity-defying chestnut brown hair framed slightly chubby (but not in a bad way, in a endearing sort of way) face. Large honey brown eyes that seem to hold faint sparks of orange whenever the light hit a certain way and a beautiful array of emotions dancing in those sparks. Really the brunette was rather bewitching he did have to acknowledge and he was grateful for him saving his life but Reborn was well aware that whilst his appearance seemed to make one think of human Tsuna was anything but.

The tail and that scene of him eating before was enough proof he isn't human. A monster.

Even his companions seemed to finally recognise this as well. Tsuna was not like them. Humans fear of the unknown and Tsuna to them was definitely the definition of unknown. Yet there was something that attracted them all to him, Reborn had to admit. however he couldn't put his finger on what it was. But looking at the peaceful scene and hearing the sound of soft laughter like the tinkling of raindrops and splashing waves the hit man couldn't help but appreciate the moment.

"I-I have to go back into the sea." The younger-looking male mumbled softly but loud enough for the raven haired gun-toting hitman's sharp ears. Reborn could hear a faint tinge of remorse at those words but he chose not to voice it. Suddenly a cheeky idea entered his mind. With his usual smirk the man wordlessly picked the half human creature up bridal style earning a rather unmanly high-pitched squeak of surprise and slight indignation. Unexpectedly the merteen was not as heavy as expected despite the whole giant fish tail deal.

"W-w-what are _you_ doing Reborn?!" Tsuna squealed still in a high pitched voice as he struggled slightly embarrassed at being lifted up, he didn't know why but it felt very intimate being so close like that. The hitman smirked inwardly noting how the other reminded him of a flailing fish out of water when he struggled. he also noticed that the other's skin and scales seem to be a little drier and duller than before. It didn't take a genius to figure out that"s why the other had to go back to the ocean. However he made sure to let none of his revelation show on his face instead with a dark smirk and childish glint in his eyes. "What are you talking about Dame-Tsuna? I'm simply helping you." He purred, sending a strange shiver down the brunette's spine which Tsuna promptly pushed away the confusing sensation. Instead he focussed on the sudden feeling of weightlessness as the taller male promptly threw him overboard making him give out a rather undignified yelp.

It was terrifying second of nothing followed by a few even more terrifying seconds of falling before the half-human finally was caught by the arms of the ocean. Immediately all his drying cells of his body as one gave a sigh of relief as it came into contact with the salty liquid. Just to make sure he swam a few flips underwater to see if anything in his body was damaged during the whole 'being unceremoniously thrown in like a sack of leftovers' thing. Caramel brown eyes looked up underwater to glare at the crouching human leaning to watch his swimming figure. Suddenly the merteen was struck with a rather petty but satisfyingly vindictive idea to get back at him.

* * *

Reborn watched the mermaid he so _carefully_ released swim quite elegantly in the crystal clear waters, chuckling darkly at the recent memories. Scales and gills shimmering and sparkling with each slight movement. It was quite enthralling to watch. Suddenly the submerged male paused for a second in his current actions and seemed to swim down quickly into the depths. Intrigued the hit man couldn't help but lean forward to see what the mysterious creature was up to.

At a startling fast pace that Reborn barely registered Tsuna was there, large powerful strokes of his tail propelling him upwards breaking the surface in a graceful back flip that a trained gymnast would be envious of. The raven haired trigger happy male would have admired the sight a little more if he hadn't been purposely splashed in the process completely soaking him from head to toe. He had now lost two very expensive silk suits in one day. Whats worse is that he looked like a soaked cat, his lack of amusement evident on his face as he got splashed again as the other dropped back into the water.

The large splash caught everyone's attention to witness the whole scene much to the hitman's displeasure. Skull who apparently forgot his last beating snorted in hilarity, breaking down as he gasped for air during his laughing fit. Colonello too soon joined him on the ground. To add salt to the wounds Tsuna again mockingly did another flip in the air however making sure not to splash anyone on the deck before making a strategic retreat when his intuition flared up and he caught sight of a certain drenched human pulling the scary object from his jacket.

Annoyed as Reborn was at that moment, not to mention murderous as he narrowed his eyes searching for the swimming merteen that will be his future dummy for target practice, a faint whisper of a smile brushed on his face. Never had someone actually defied him in such a way- and succeeded. The kid had balls he'd give him that. Maybe the unexpected companion they inadvertently picked up wouldn't be so bad. As he caught sight of a glimmer of the entrancing scales that seemed to hold dancing flames his pacifier around his neck pulsed unnoticeably.

* * *

_A single living jewel so very well hidden by the ocean's cloak strayed from the group. Alone and vulnerable and no longer under the Sea King's protection the jewel's lusting curiosity leads him on. _

_For the first time the jewel bathes in the Sun. _

_For the first time the jewel meets with the sky and all it's Element's it holds._

_A Rainbow greeted the little jewel._

_And he was happy._

_But at what cost is happiness?_

_Was it truly worth what was sacrificed?_


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi hi~~**

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* * *

It had been three days since splashing Reborn with water.

And a certain brunette merteen that had been carefully laying low, for fear of the scary black metal thing the mean human seem to be holding all the time, was getting annoyed. Who knew humans kept grudges so stubbornly? Not to mention so protective of the cloth covering their bodies. Really. Tsuna's material decorations like the strings of pearls and the see-through sparkly seaweed that he had wrapped around his waist got wet all the time. He didn't see _him_ getting mad. Weird humans.

Anyway three days was the limit of his patience and his curiosity which, was almost as insatiable as his appetite, was growling for information. Self-preservation could wait. The half human still barely knew anything nor learned anything during his time in their presence and that was very unacceptable. He had observed their behaviors and habits obviously but without the proper context they were meaningless actions to the brunette. Also, his intuition assured him that the human with funny spiral sideburns wasn't as angered as he had thought originally. Of course that still didn't make Reborn any less dangerous.

Tsuna wondered if there was a name for people who enjoyed other's suffering.

Deciding to risk it the merteen began kicking up his beautiful shimmering sunset colored tail toward the giant floating wooden house. However, maybe hust to be safe he should check out the area furthest from the raven haired human with the temper. Yes that seemed like a very good, very non-suicidal idea.

Swimming to the shadier part of the floating wooden thing his observant gaze caught sight of the human almost completely covered with cloth made of indigo. He was sitting on another wooden object counting his green paper and metal circles that surrounded him. What also caught the brunette's attention was the other shiny objects around him, they were quite familiar to the merteen as he'd seen them consistently underwater- presumably dropped due to unfortunate accidents during the more chaotic times above water. Yet in a way they were completely foreign to him since he had no clue what they were _for_.

Pulling himself up onto the deck Tsuna couldn't help but wince at the loud splashy, squelching noises he made getting out of water. How embarrassing. Mermaids- especially open water species like him, specialized and prided themselves as silent, fast hunters. Too be so... _Loud_, was not exactly impressive in his eyes.

Of course the indigo human, Mammon, as he was pretty sure his name was, looked up from his counting immediately. And while he couldn't see it, Tsuna could feel the other's rather intent gaze on him. It was like when he looked at a school of fish in order to determine the quality of it for eating. The brunette found he didn't like the feeling of being under such a gaze that much. _He_ was the hunter, not the other way round.

In spite of the uncomfortable feeling, the brunette brushed it off as another one of those human quirks and taking a mental note to figure it out later.

With the most cheeriest, non-threatening smile he had, he gave a shy wave.

"Um.. Hi?"

"As I'm not getting paid for this conversation this better be quick." The merteen frowned slightly at that. He wasn't the most informed of human behavior but even he at least knew _that_ was rude. Don't they usually respond with a greeting of sorts back? Also there was that strange word that was unfamiliar to the brunette.

"What is this 'paid'? Why can you not speak to me without this 'paid'?" He questioned curiously. Thinking about it, their last short encounter proved that Mammon held many confusing words he hadn't ever hear of much less know of. It was very exciting to learn these new additions to his language of humankind.

The greatest Illusionist, and arguably most greedy, in the world again couldn't help but short circuit temporarily in shock. It still just hadn't clicked that someone didn't know and appreciate the value of money._ 'But the boy wasn't human, wasn't just someone.'_ A part of his brain helpfully supplied. _'Not a human, not a boy, but a monster... Just like you.'_

Mammon flinched subtly at the last thought as memories of the past came back like a flurry of leaves in the wind that refuse to scatter too far. His talents weren't always appreciated after all, he hadn't been always appreciated either. You couldn't trust anyone Mammon had learnt. At least money you could depend on. It won't accept you nor betray. With it you are valued and it would never leave you if you won't let it. Money created happiness or at least a sense of satisfaction. The illusionist had realised that cold, harsh snippet of the truth during his experiences in life. The hard way.

"This-" A hand peeking out of the cloth gestured to the hoard of items and such. "Is worth almost everything to me. It gives me happiness, stability and a sense of purpose. What they are worth is many things- food, comfort, power and even _lives_." Caramel brown eyes stared at the pile. All he saw was paper stacks and metal shiny objects, nothing more nor less. Yet they were worth a life? Worth power? How strange indeed.

"So if I did this 'paid' thing with your shiny objects, metal circles and green paper what would I get?"

The human smirked. "If you paid me with enough treasure, coins and notes then I would do virtually anything."

_"Hee~eh?_"

The illusionist was a little taken aback by the shining pure eyes of awe and understanding. Usually his views on money were met with condescending pity or disgust. Not this. The creature was truly, honestly enthralled by the concept. "Would you even teach me some human things?"

Mammon snorted, affronted at such an obviously stupid question. "Obviously. However for such a menial thing you have to pay me quite a bit."

The merteen thought for a bit before nodding in childish excitement. It was almost endearing enough for the illusionist to pay the boy for such a sight. _Almost._

"Wait a few minutes!" The creature called as he pushed himself back into the sea, flashing sunset orange scales the last thing he saw before the teen disappeared into the ocean's depths.

The illusionist didn't know why but he waited. He waited. He didn't even go back to counting his money. Just waited, sitting on the edge of the ship watching the waves and the sky, waiting. Maybe he was simply very curious or _maybe_ -even if it's only a small teensy part of him- _maybe_ he wanted to trust the strange innocent creature, trust without the safety net of money, to invest his last bit of hope on the mermaid. Maybe it was a bit of both.

Mammon only had to wait four minutes before the teen resurfaced, his hair weighted down slightly from the water and his exposed shoulders glistening with the sea. The illusionist couldn't help but avert his eyes slightly from the admittedly tantalizing sight especially coupled with the radiance of the brunette's victorious grin. If he had a device that could instantly paint that image he could sell millions, the indigo clad being thought absentmindedly.

Maybe he'll get Verde to invent one. Hopefully for a good price.

"Mammon! Mammon! I got your 'paid' things!" The brunette chirped cheerily, his hand outstretched as he waved holding something sparkling in the sunlight. The illusionist couldn't help but wipe a little bit of drool on the corner of his mouth at that. Quickly composing himself he merely patiently responded back. "It's called payment but yes... you did..._ good._"

Tsuna who was in the process of pulling himself up on deck just grinned with such childish pride that the hooded male unknowingly quirked his own lips in his own small smile. Really, even Mammon had to admit that this creature was quite... exquisite. The thought was hurriedly pushed back in favor of once again drooling over the treasures the mermaid had brought to him.

There were a few pieces of useless trash that the teen collected, plastic, pebbles, pieces of glass, some dead coral. Mammon mentally noted in his mind to teach the boy the difference between treasure and trash. It'll be a very important investme- _*ahem*-_ lesson for the boy to learn.

However the loot wasn't completely useless. Far from it actually. Pearl necklaces, a small golden statute of some sort of deity, a jeweled hairbrush and an assortment of glittering gems of amazing clarity were found in the mix. It wasn't high in quantity but quality wise- let's just say even Mammon's best items in his own loot paled ever so slightly in comparison.

"I did... Good?" The teen's voice was nervous and a little hesitant. If he was a normal person the illusionist would have cooed at the voice alone. Instead he merely nodded and unknowing why his hand automatically reached out to ruffle the wet, silky soft hair of the other. "You did good." He answered back quietly with a nod.

The smile Tsuna gave was priceless.

* * *

"Hey Mammo- _oh_ what's going on here?"

The strange pair were sitting face to face, Mammon was the one who glanced up to the Chinese martial artist. Surrounding them was various treasures and valuable items that normally the hooded male would never let see the light of day let alone to another person- half fish or otherwise. There was even a rather large wad of green notes in the brunette's hand.

"There is no need for me to discuss my current actions." Mammon answered shortly while the merteen at the same time turned to the man and happily chirped, "Mammon-san is teaching me human things!"

Fon had to hide a chuckle behind his long sleeves as the greedy illusionist shot the cheery brunette a glare. However the chuckle died down when the creature did a double take at him before paling rapidly like he was the most disturbing thing the mermaid ever saw. And while he wasn't vain, Fon was aware that he had very attractive looks that could easily stand side by side with his more popular comrades. So seeing that expression of almost horrified curiosity threw him off a little bit more than he'd like to admit.

"Is... There something wrong little one?" The kind martial artist asked worriedly, bending down so he was eye level with the two. To his surprise, the half human seemed to flinch, trying his best to subtly shy away from him. The teen looked confused, a little frightened even. The illusionist sitting across from the brunette raised a brow toward the Chinese. Now that _never_ happened. Not to him at least.

"Seems like Tsuna is afraid of you." Mammon observed in a mix of bemusement and wonder. Fon was possibly the least intimidating person, not to mention one of the best when handling children, on the ship. Not many would run away from him. In fact the illusionist had actually seen enemies run _to_ him, in preference to fighting someone truly terrifying like Reborn or himself.

* * *

Tsuna looked at Tails warily. It was different when there were many of the other humans with him but seeing this strange human by himself… The brunette's tail shifted nervously.

"Tsuna?" The teen turned to look at the cloaked human. "Is there something wrong with Fon?"

Rather timidly the brunette gestured what he hoped was a come closer signal for Mammon. It wasn't that he was scared per say... It was _just_... Tsuna muttered something when he deemed the human close enough.

"What? Kid you're going to have to pay me again if you're going to make me strain my ears here."

"I said…" The brunette took a deep breath, face heating up rather attractively. "His cloth makes me.. _umm_, what is the word.. uncomfortable."

The two humans stared at him incredulously. The merteen just fidgeted under the gaze. It was the martial artist that broke the silence.

"I guess I'll go change then..."

Fon came back a few minutes later with a darker red shirt and black pants instead of his usual fire red and white attire. Hopefully the strange behaviour from the mermaid would finally be over and done with now. After all while he didn't show it the man was just as curious as the rest of them on the creature and felt a strange magnetic attraction toward it. Seeing the brunette... reject him was not a _pleasant_ feeling.

Tsuna was still there, giggling sweetly as Mammon said something that the martial artist couldn't catch. Fon felt his usual half-smile twitch downward for a moment. Shaking the strange feeling away the raven haired male knelt down in front of Tsuna, though when those caramel brown eyes looked at him it was hard to ignore that unusual bubbly warm sensation in his chest.

"Hey there Tsuna." Fon said softly, nervously. It was uncanny how thrown off his usual, steadfast pace the arcobaleno was. He didn't understand why this _mattered_ so much to him but it did. The brunette's eyes scanned over the male, stopping at his shirt. Fon followed his gaze quizzically. "Ah, yeah it's a new shirt. Do you like it?"

The look in the merteen's eyes really said it all.

"I'm going to say no." The illusionist who had been watching the scene as he casually counted a stack of bills, replied with dry bemusement. Mammon was never Fon's biggest fan, in the cloaked male's opinion the smug Chinese who thought and he quotes 'that martial arts is obviously better than illusions', needed to be taken down a peg or ten.

Fon looked so lost, the smile no longer on his face. "Do you not like the shirt? Should I go change? I could borrow something from Reborn if you want."

The usually stoic, emotionless facade of the greedy illusionist nearly crumbled to reveal his vindictive pleasure at the sight of Fon looking so confused and uncertain. Bet no one had ever done that to him before. Fon may not realize it but Mammon knew the male had enough pride to rival Collonelo's, maybe even Reborn, however no one has ever called him out of it since that ego was never so openly expressed.

For someone to openly be unnerved by- not even fear or dislike, but a strange mixture of both- the Fastest Arcobaleno of all Arcobaleno was a rather big blow to the martial artist. As an illusionist Mammon specialized in the workings of the mind and to his glee realized this sudden, unexpected reaction to Fon would very likely result in the Chinese fighter trying hard to start pleasing the merteen in order to get Tsuna's approval. Just like a puppy. It was even funnier considering Fon seemed to be completely oblivious to all of this.

* * *

What was that color on the humans cloth? And why was it so... unnerving?

Fon had came back with merely a different shade of the cloth instead of a less disturbing color. Tsuna couldn't explain this sudden aversion but all he knew was looking at it made his instincts go into a frenzy. Like he couldn't fully register what he was seeing yet that seemed stupid since it was right before his eyes. The more human part of him, the one that clearly see this strange new color was fighting with his instincts that denied it even there, it wasnt nice. And Tsuna did not like it.

Which in turn meant that Tsuna did not like Fon.

Well, that was a _bit_ of an exaggeration. Tsuna was aware he did not hold enough information to cast out an opinion on the long haired human. However it was true that the brunette found the male possibly the least likeable and therefore least trustworthy human on the ship. It wasn't just the strange color. Ok it played a major role but it was also that _contrast_. That serene smile and kind face coupled with that speed and strength... It definitely put the merteen on edge.

To be fair all the other humans were dangerous too. Or at least in Tsuna's standards of prey. While the merteen still barely scraped the surface of figuring out these amazingly mysterious two legged creatures he had always long ago realised they held much intelligence. And knowledge was their weapon. In terms of physical strength they were probably on par or below a simple shark's or octopus'. Their sight was near useless in daytime and their movements dulled in the vast blue water. But with intellect they had devised ways around their limitations.

The metal thing Reborn held seemed to be constructed to make up for lack of speed and tore easily through the wood. The brunette had seen the yellow haired male 'take care' of his own metal things as well, though those were much bigger in size. The female had her own collection of those things as well, thinking back. Verde didn't seem to hold any weapon other than the strange liquids he always plays with, sometimes though the merteen would see a flash of silver metal underneath that white long piece of cloth he uses.

These objects had been made to make up for this species lack of physical capabilities. Such fascinating creativity. It wasn't a wonder why Tsuna marvelled these strange beings who seemed to be able to make these magical items from… something. The whole process was something the tailed teen realised was just another mystery to him.

Mammon had no weapons he knew of but the man held a power, the brunette could sense this at least. If he had to guess it would be similar to a Siren's ability to trick men into the sea. The cloaked human did say he was an illusionist. Maybe illusions were like Mesmer or Charm?

But Fon seemed to use _nothing_, he held no weapons of any style or form. This probably meant the man relied completely on his body and physical capabilities to defend himself. Admittedly the male was far superior to his fellow humans in that aspect alone but the long haired male in Tsuna's opinion could be the most arrogant of them all. Sure the merteen had been taken by surprise by them before but in a true one on one confrontation even superior human strength would hold nothing on him.

The human called Skull was the same yet completely different. Skull didn't seem to hold any weapons either. However there was something just unappealing about this particular human's body. The brunette marvelled at far humans have evolved, how varied they were, this man decorated in strange metal with his lack of offensive power ironically out of everyone, he would probably survive the best overall. In Tsuna's opinion, the pierced human was the one who had the highest chance out of the group to survive him, not defeat him, but survive him.

But right now Tsuna wasn't here at this moment to contemplate the intriguing body of the indigo male or the outcomes of himself fighting the humans. He'll do that at a more suitable time.

Forcing himself back to reality the merteen saw Fon shifting slightly uncomfortably under the smaller man's gaze. The streak of wild instinct inside the brunette preened under the fact an obvious Alpha type like this individual looked so submissive because of him. It felt rather… good.

"Tsuna?" Mammon prompted.

The brunette blinked a few times before focusing back onto Fon. "Oh right. Uh, yes I would prefer if you changed the colour of the cloth covering your torso if you don't mind." He requested as politely as he could, though even he could hear the slight cold edge to his voice.

Fon must have heard it too because his smile looked a little more strained than before. "O-of course." And with that he swiftly left to change once again.

The illusionist couldn't help but let out a small vindictive chuckle. "Wow Tsuna, keep that up and he's going to be like a whipped dog around you." The merteen just tilted his head, confused.

* * *

"Oi Mammon-senpai! Fon-senpai! Everyone's wondering where you two- what the?."

"Hello Skull." Fon smiled as he looked up from his cards he was holding. Mammon nodded acknowledging before turning back to Tsuna and whispering the basic rules to the game. The mermaid barely noticed the new intrusion, too busy struggling with the concepts of this strange human activity.

There were many things the diver wanted to ask. Many questions came to the forefront of his mind. However the first thing that came out of his mouth was-

"You're wearing Reborn's shirt."

"I am."

"Why?"

Fon's smile widened. "Because Tsuna-kun prefers it this way."

Skull raised an eyebrow.

"You're also wearing his pants."

"Well I would look quite foolish if I wore my own pants with it." Fon countered. The pierced male's brow crinkled. The martial artist seemed to be.. different, not enough for an acquaintance or stranger to notice but enough. Yet it was such a subtle shift Skull couldn't really explain what this difference was.

Shrugging it off, the pierced male joined the strange group sitting on the ground, completely forgetting the original reason he even came to this part of the ship. "Sooo, watcha doing?"

"Blackjack." Tsuna chirped happily, his bare chest puffing out in pride that he remembered the strange name of the game. Skull made a few admiring ooh-ing noises that one would usually use when dealing with children or small animals, which seemed to appease the creature. The merteen giggled as he shuffled his body so there was room in the circle for the standing male, scales sparking like the water at sunset as his tail moved in lazy, content motions. "Want to join?"

Skull was momentarily stunned at the offer, no one ever asked him to join anything. Ever. Usually he forcibly had to wiggle himself in or whine and sulk till someone decided it was just easier to let him participate in whatever they were doing instead. Clearly from the looks on the other two's faces (though Fon's was much more polite and restrained) they thought so too. It was completely unprecedented.

Tsuna looked up at the diver with inquisitive innocence, cocking his head at an angle, trying to understand this lack of reaction. "You don't want to join?" He asked slowly, cautiously, unsure if he had done something wrong or offending toward the human. "I mean, it is not, uh, you don't have to if it makes you feel bad?"

That seemed to break whatever daze the pierced male was in. Skull looked at the merteen with a mixture of awe and slight panic. It reminded the brunette of how he felt when he was about to catch and consume his first Great White shark. "No, no of course I don't feel bad!" He shouted rather unnecessarily in Tsuna's opinion. "The great Skull-sama would be delighted to join in your games!"

Tsuna smiled brightly at the acceptance to his offer and fidgeted to show his own delight. If he was underwater he would've flipped and twirled to show his gratitude, as his species usually used such actions and body language to aid in communication, though he had noticed hand gestures seemed to also be a big part of human speech as well. He hoped his fidgeting properly portrayed his happiness and not an act of aggression. Luckily the purple (but a different purple to Mammon obviously) haired human didn't really seem to care about the fidgeting and energetically sat down to play the strange games of the picture cards.

* * *

"Ace Jack!"

"It's _Black_ Jack." Fon corrected good naturedly. The other two Arcobaleno however were not as content with the turn of events.

"Thank god we aren't betting any money." Mammon muttered, while the illusionist's eyes were shadowed by his hood it wasn't very hard to figure out the cloaked male was glaring at his hand of cards. Not to mention was completely ignoring the fact he had practically tried insisting on the exchange of money during the game for the last five rounds.

"How do you keep _doing_ that?!" Skull whined, throwing his own set of cards on the floor dramatically. Tsuna giggled, enjoying the theatrics of this human.

"It is a very simple game." The brunette stated with surprisingly no condescension at all. "You just get two cards and choose to give up or try get a good-er number. I do not see how it would be hard."

Tsuna then clapped his hands with a large grin.

"Now. Let us try another of these card games! I hear there are ones called Poke-her and another known as.. the Going of the Fish?"

Skull mock groaned and Mammon's eyes rolled so hard they could tangibly feel it. Fon merely covered his mouth with his arm, hiding a chuckle. It was a strange thing if one thought about it, this lazy afternoon with the sun and clouds watching in the sky as three cursed human beings- a diver, a martial artist and an illusionist- all relaxing on the back of a boat whilst a mermaid completely decimates them in card games.

Definitely a strange thing. But in a good way.

* * *

They were just in the middle of a hair-raisingly suspenseful round of Go Fish when suddenly Tsuna felt an instinctive tug, an echoing pulse inside him. Surprised the brunette dropped his cards, scattering on the deck messily. The three arcobaleno looked up at the merteen who currently had a puzzled frown adorning his delicate features.

"Tsuna?"

Tsuna tried to give a reassuring smile but failed spectacularly. "I'm sorry, I am suddenly feeling… unwell." The merteen murmured, his hand absentmindedly rubbing his chest were the strange sensation was throbbing inside of him. It wasn't too hard to ignore but it was _there_, like waves of the ocean were beneath his skin, hitting the walls of his being in a slow rhythmic beat. He had never heard of anything like this ever. "I should be getting back to the water anyway." Tsuna nodded to himself, albeit a little reluctantly. "I'm starting to dry out again. Goodbye."

With that the brunette quickly turned to face the sea and determinedly push himself closer to the water, barely acknowledging the goodbyes following him as he did. He didn't even turn back when he heard the near silent footsteps, signalling the appearance of another of the fascinating human beings which in any other circumstances he would've at least glanced up to observe who they were but this wasn't any circumstance. This situation needed his full attention.

As Tsuna submerged himself into the cool salty embrace of the ocean the merteen still couldn't keep the furrowing of his brows from his face. The brunette let himself swim around the giant driftwood thing known as a 'ship' or 'boat' as he began to think furiously about this new feeling in his chest. Even when the sun began to leave and the moon rose Tsuna still couldn't identify this sensation from either knowledge of his people nor the books he'd read. But there was one thing he finally realised.

_Something was coming_. His intuition was practically buzzing with anxiety and nervousness and even confusion. He could't pinpoint the reason why, not even a vague notion. But whatever it was, it was big, it wasn't going to be ending any time soon once it starts and it'll be coming soon.

The half fish, half human felt sick at the thought. This wasn't like his interest with the unknown and complexity of humans, this was something completely _unimaginable_, like a shadow in the deepest sea chasms. For some reason you knew it was there, but you just can't see how far that darkness of the shadow extends until it's too late and you're swallowed whole.

In an attempt to soothe himself, Tsuna began murmuring the all too familiar song that he and every other merperson had learnt and listened to since as long as anyone could remember,

_Shades of green and aqua blue_

_The sea painted with a thousand hues_

_Beneath the thundering ocean waves_

_Out of the reach of mariners graves_

_A living testimony swims in majesty_, _once the rulers of the sea_

_Once the rulers of the sea_

* * *

Reborn watched quietly as the shimmering tail, the colour of a thousand fiery sunsets all compacted and sparkling in each scale under the light of the sun, slipped from the boat and his vision. A small splash of water was the last thing to be seen from departure of the ever curious creature. The hitman stubbornly ignored an unexplainable pang of annoyance, a strange twisting in his throat at the thought of him just having missed Tsuna by a few seconds and focused on his three fellow cursed companions instead.

"What are you doing playing games? Lal says she can see land ahead, we should be arriving on shore in a day and a half at least."

Ignoring the cheers of the idiotic lackey, Reborn couldn't help but smirk at the palpable relief from his other arcobaleno. He too could not wait to finally be released, even if only for a short while, away from them all.

"Yes, _freedom_ is coming."

* * *

_There lies the hidden gems from beneath the ocean_

_With songs of praise and true devotion_

_To the God of creation and of the sea_

_To the God of creation and of the sea_

* * *

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE'RE LOST?!" A pale red haired man, with a tribal patterned tattoo on his face that looked like fire, screamed.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" A blonde man with eyes orange, the color of the sky when the sun sets over the horizon, smiled sheepishly and not looking at all that sorry, much to the redhead's frustration. "It's just, while I was having my turn navigating I looked up at the sky and got lost in the stars and clouds and-"

The blonde's rambling was cut off by a groan from the tattooed male. Said male was rubbing his forehead in a failing attempt to soothe his oncoming headache. "This is exactly why you're a shitty captain and we should've learnt by now never to put you near the wheel what with your said excuse for an attention span."

Sunset eyes glittered cheekily as they met with annoyed ruby red ones, "But isn't just so exciting now that we have no real direction? Think of it as an adventure G!"

The man, G, muttered something about where he personally thought the blonde could stick his adventures up of and glared. "Captain, we can't keep going off from our mission. You know how important finding all the artefacts are and thanks to your father we finally have a vague hint to what one of them is! I don-"

"Shhhh! G can you feel that?" The redhead frowned harder at being interrupted by silently focused his senses out to the world. Unable to perceive anything notably different, G turned to his captain to complain. Any protests however were swiftly silenced as he'd caught sight of those orange-coloured eyes. Usually his captain's eyes would glitter and brighten with emotion like a flickering fire. Now they positively glowed like the setting sun. The owner of those eyes lifted his head to the sky, the sea breeze brushing golden gravity-defying locks of hair and he laughed.

"Can't you feel it? _Adventure_ is coming."

* * *

_A sea being robbed by cruel thieves_

_The song of the jewels drifts silently away_

_The hands of man have silenced their praise_

_As God looks down in his majesty_

_As tears trickle down on the silent sea..._

_As tears trickle down on the silent sea..._

* * *

At the forefront of a large ship the colour of the ash and the shadows and the darkest of the night, a man looked up at the sky with a twisted, tired, wry smile on his aristocratic, though slightly reptilian features. Shoulder-length straight hair and cat like eyes the same colours as his vessel contrasted greatly with his pale skin that holds no right for maintaining it's whiteness what with the constant sun beating down on him. Approaching him is another, much taller man, cloaked in black and covered head to toe in bandages. Only a small part of his face, badly mangled, reveals a disturbing inverted eye which was currently watching his master who sighed longingly.

"Our wait is over. It is finally time."

The bandaged man stiffened at the proclamation. A fiery thrill running down his back and the deadened self inside his equally deadened husk of a body now aflame with life again.

"What should I tell the others Master?"

"Tell them.." The aristocratic man didn't turn to look back at his faithful right hand man, instead he looked down at the clear, colourless bauble hanging around his neck. Long fingers dancing with the accursed mockery of an artefact before harshly gripping the thing with enough force to bend iron. The clear pacifier darkening as flames the colour of the night temporarily engulfed it and Bermuda Von Veckenschtein grinned, warping his usual refined looks into a terrifyingly, wild hatred built only from centuries of being wronged.

"Tell them… _Vengeance_ is coming."


End file.
